The long-term goal of the Mission on Cancer is to support the development of a framework of newly defined, harmonised and systematic surveys, as well as to collect new and update existing quality of life data and registries information, using appropriate digital tools.

Proposals should address all of the following:

• Conduct analyses of existing quality of life data from studies, surveys and registries together with patients and with a particular focus on patients’ needs, including return to work. These analyses serve to identify problems, fill gaps and validate sets of minimal quality of life measurement tools and approaches for different types of cancer.
• Set up collaborative approaches with patients, communities and multidisciplinary research teams (for example in the form of living labs, making use of citizen science, social innovation or other participatory research methods). Within this co-design process, quality of life measurement tools and approaches should be developed to capture key elements of quality of life from the perspective of those affected by cancer, which are not captured (adequately) with established metrics.
• Prepare and conduct a pilot of newly defined, harmonised and systematic quality of life surveys across the EU-27 and Associated countries, reflecting both its diversity (social, cultural, geographic, demographic, health and social protection systems) and unique differences in incidence and mortality of cancer indications. The surveys should gather data using established quality of life metrics and serve to validate the newly developed metrics focusing on cancer, making use of digital tools for data gathering and analysis where relevant.
• These surveys should form the basis for a comprehensive comparison of the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors across and within countries, as well as between different groups, and prepare the ground for future regular, more extensive high-quality data collection.
• The influence of age and early-life factors and determinants; genetic risk, socio-economic status; environmental factors; behavioural, including lifestyle risk factors; as well as social, cultural, sex and gender aspects including inequalities (e.g. access to care), should be taken into account across all aspects mentioned above.